I got a hold of this invitation for a fund-raiser on January 12, hosted by Mayor Robert Duffy and Assemblyman Joe Morelle, the Monroe County Democratic chairman. The event is being hosted at the home of Tom Wilmot, a Rochester-area developer and active donor.

Last week, Wilmot sat on the host committee for a fund-raiser Cuomo had in Victor. Morelle and Duffy, speculated as a potential lieutenant governor, were the hosts of that event and Morelle attended Cuomo's birthday party last night.

The invitation doesn't say how much Paterson is asking for the "cocktail reception."

Cuomo has repeatedly said his only political plan "at this time" is to run for attorney general. He and Paterson are fighting a Cold War for campaign cash--which Cuomo is, by all accounts, winning--in an attempt to force Paterson to cut short his electoral bid.

The invite I have (below) doesn't have a dollar amount, but the event is something of a thank you to Cuomo, who headlined the county committee's fund-raiser in October. This reception is at the Victor offices of Constellation, a wine-selling company.

Duffy has been rumored as (and denies) being on Cuomo's short list for lieutenant governor, should Cuomo ever seek to become governor. (He has repeatedly said publicly that he is running for attorney general "at this time," despite his rampant fund-raising.) Morelle, too, is a long-time Cuomo ally.

Cuomo Fundraiser Invitation

"I think, obviously, it's too early to tell what he intends to do," Morelle, a longtime Cuomo ally, told me. "But Andrew--it shouldn't be a surprise to people that Andrew is thinking in broader terms--not because he may run for governor next year, but because since he was 20 has been in the center of New York and national politics."

"He talked about restoring the public's faith in government. I was there, obviously, and I've heard some of the comments that have been made, and I guess I wasn't as struck by the difference," Morelle continued. "Clearly he's talking about broader themes. I think we're all sort of in an interesting position in that the governor's poll numbers are going to have something to say about whether the governor is viable politically next year. If at the end of the day the governor decides not to run or if he decides it's not feasible for him to run, then a lot of people are going to be looking at Andrew."

"It was more a general opportunity to put on the table people's frustrations and feelings that they're, in a sense, taken for granted. I have to say I was somewhat surprised by some of the points that were made," Assemblyman Joe Morelle, who is also the Monroe County Democratic chairman, said after the three-hour meeting.

Assemblymen Carl Heastie and Vito Lopez, the chairs of the Bronx and Brooklyn Democratic parties, attended as well as Julian Schreibman of Ulster County, Diane Dwire of Onondaga County and Jay Jacobs, the incoming state chairman who currently runs the Nassau County party.

Union leaders present include Michael Mulgrew of the United Federation of Teachers; Stuart Appelbaum of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; George Gresham of SEIU 1199; Mike Fishman of SEIU 32BJ and Gary La Barbera Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.

According to one person in the room, the 2010 ticket was discussed, and union leaders "expressed concern about the polling numbers for everyone--except Cuomo."

The group agreed to meet again.

"That's certainly not my expectation or my desire. That's not my agenda," said Assemblyman Joe Morelle, chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Committee in Rochester.

He said today's gathering, at a hotel in Kingston, grew out of a dinner that the chairs of several large urban counties held earlier this year. The chairs of several other upstate counties were not invited, and many did not know about the meeting.

Len Lenihan, the Erie County Democratic chairman, said he would not attend the meeting as he continues to recover from hip surgery.

"It's a meeting of large, urban counties to talk about issues prevalent in large, urban counties," Lenihan said.

Morelle supports the measure, as do many wineries, on the grounds it will increase sales, but liquor stores are opposed. Today Morelle announced he is introducing a compromise measure that will allow liquor stores to sell some food items, as well as other paraphernalia, and to open multiple locations. It's basically a bone to liquor-store owners in exchange for some movement on the wine issue.

"I truly see this as a win-win for everyone," Morelle said in a press release. "New York's wine and grape industries will prosper as a result of increased sales, supermarkets will add a new dimension to their product lines, liquor store proprietors will have additional tools with which to compete in this new environment, and taxpayers will benefit from more than $150 million in new revenues for state government. It is my hope that we will begin these discussions anew and reach a solution that meets the needs of all involved."

The liquor stores did not bite.

"Our position is we just need to keep doing business the way we've done business," said Marc Ressler, owner of Midnight Liquors in Tonawanda and vice president of the state Liquor Store Association. "Generally, the rules the way they are right now protect us and protect our customers."

He added: "These enticements that they're trying to put into the Morelle bill generally aren't acceptable" and would turn liquor stores into "convenience stores."

The issue will have to compete for time and attention with lots of other things as the legislative session comes to an end.

“If I were a superdelegate right now,” Morelle told me, “and hadn’t committed, I’d be hard-pressed to come up with a rational for voting for Senator Obama over Hillary Clinton. She’s winning everywhere.”

(As if proving his point, the Clinton campaign sent out an email shortly after the interview announcing the support of upstate "automatic delegate" Irene Stein.)

Morelle added, “She’s now ahead of Senator McCain in North Carolina, a state where she lost the Democratic primary a month and a half ago, two months ago. She’s now leading Senator McCain in polls in North Carolina. It’s been a remarkable turnaround.

“I just hope Democrats are watching what’s happening on the ground right now instead of what happened two months ago,” Morelle said.

“What’s interesting,” he said, “is that if it’s so inevitable, and everybody is so certain that Senator Obama is the best candidate, why is it that Senator Clinton keeps winning primaries?”

Hillary Clinton: “Extraordinary”
Bill Clinton: “Smartest man in any room he‘s in.”
Barack Obama: “Very talented and has a lot of promise.”
Ted Kennedy: “National icon.”
Eliot Spitzer: “Going to be one of most distinguished governors when he’s done.”
Rudy Giuliani: “Soon to be retired permanently to the private sector.”
Michael Bloomberg: “I don’t know him well, but he’s done a great job as mayor.”
Mark Weprin (who was sitting next to Morelle for part of the interview): “He’s a scoundrel.”

Also responding rapidly on behalf of Clinton here in New York is former state Democratic Party Chair Judith Hope, and Queens County Democratic Chairman, Representative Joe Crowley.

So how does an Assembly member separate himself from the other candidates?

One way, which could ingratiate himself with the new governor, is to show a track record of pushing for legislative reform.

One sign of that support for former Assemblyman Scott Stringer's resolution supporting rules changes recommended by the Brennan Center.
Jeremy Creelan, formerly of the Brennan Center, already sent a letter saying Morelle was supportive of the Brennan Center's recommendations and therefore, demonstrated the kind of independence a comptroller needs.

It's also worth noting that the other comptroller candidates - Brodsky, DiNapoli, and Grannies - never signed onto it. Ortiz, who is considered a bit of a long shot. It's unclear how vocal any of them were on the issue, but a paper trail is a paper trail

-- Azi Paybarah

So how does an Assembly member separate himself from the other candidates?

One way, which could ingratiate himself with the new governor, is to show a track record of pushing for legislative reform.

One sign of that support for former Assemblyman Scott Stringer's resolution supporting rules changes recommended by the Brennan Center. Jeremy Creelan, formerly of the Brennan Center, already sent a letter saying Morelle was supportive of the Brennan Center's recommendations and therefore, demonstrated the kind of independence a comptroller needs.

It's also worth noting that the other comptroller candidates - Brodsky, DiNapoli, and Grannies - never signed onto it. Ortiz, who is considered a bit of a long shot. It's unclear how vocal any of them were on the issue, but a paper trail is a paper trail

-- Azi Paybarah